Masahiko Ohta is one of the most prolific directors currently working in the anime industry ~ !

He's been apart of some of anime's greatest story-telling, having directed our very own Kotoura San! ~ !

One of his most recent masterpieces, YuruYuri is here on Crunchyroll ~ !!!

YURUYURI follows four students who decide to occupy the room of defunct tea ceremony club, dubbing it the ‘Amusment Club.’ While the Student Council does its best to eliminate this club, their endless energy, happiness and comedy will keep audiences smiling all season long!

Crunchyroll's own Keikawa and SailorBee interviewed the director himself, and we brought your questions TO HIM ~ !

So without further dawdling ~ Here are the answers to YOUR questions ~ ! ANSWERED BY MASAHIKO OHTA. You will see the original response in italics, followed by the translation.

To take the fun parts from a manga and make it into an anime is a challenge not limited to YURUYURI. The same difficulties are felt during any kind of original work. The manga moves at a comfortable pace for the reader, but the anime has to force an equivalent “flow” on the audience, making a good conversion a must. Depending on the work, the best way to convert it differs, so each project takes great effort. Potentional darker themes: I think that you are referring to the “yuri” aspect of the show. Our rule for this project was to not make deep “yuri” developments; therefore, it was treated more as a spice added to a recipe. As for challenges... During the first season, the main challenge was “how much do we want Akari on-screen?” She couldn’t be gone, but she couldn’t be too present, either. It was difficult. In the second season, Akari had become so popular, we couldn’t remove her from the story as much, so we decided to draw “what Akari does when she’s by herself." How do you make it so funny and enjoyable to watch?: Thank you. Being told that gives the entire staff energy for their next project.

TheJudged -- What was your reaction to the reception of YuruYuri (and Kotoura-San) by fans overseas/in the west? Did you anticipate the popularity and success that these shows would receive or did they come as a surprise to you?

予想外でとても嬉しいです。皆さんは日本人になりたいのでしょうか？笑

It was unexpected and I was very happy. Does everyone want to become Japanese? *laughs*

TerraGamerX - If you were a cute young girl, which Yuruyuri character would be most similar to you?

全く同じ子はいませんが、結衣が少し似てるかもしれません。ツッコミをする所が。

There is no child that is completely similar to me, but Yui might be a close fit. Particularly when she butts in on what others are saying.

HappenCheese - My question is, in creating the show, how closely do you work with the manga artist, Namori? Are manga artists included in the process?

We asked Namori-sensei to do the final checks on the characters, scenario, and storyboards. But the process was basically entrusted to us. I would like to hope there were some parts that Namori-sensei found particularly enjoyable.

“Can the tunes created by Pony Canyon for each character be used in the story?” was a question we voiced, but it proved too difficult to use them in the main story. That was when we decided to use them for the eye-catches.

I also answered this in the second question, but manga and anime are different mediums. Some things work best in the manga, but something else might work best in the anime. We change such things when we find them. It is always a difficult problem for the director to judge what is necessary and what isn’t. Ultimately, it is for the audience to decide if their decisions were good or bad.

Thank you Ohta-San ~ !!!

If one of your questions was chosen please PRIVATE MESSAGE ME, your address, and I will send you the prize from the contest. You have until September 13th to message me to claim your prize ~ !!!! Send your message to : SailorBee